Uncategorized Archives - Bukola Oriola

A Heart of Gratitude and Purpose

October 30, 2025 By Bukola Oriola

As I start another beautiful year, a gift from God, I say a very BIG THANK YOU to God Almighty for giving me another chance to live. Living is a privilege I do not take for granted.

October is my birth month. It is also a month of remembrance and milestones for me. I regained my freedom from human trafficking and domestic violence in October. I also launched my business, Bukola Oriola Group, LLC, formerly known as Bukola Braiding & Beauty Supply LLC and fondly called Bukola Braiding by my clients, in the same month.

It’s amazing how time flies. This October marks 18 years since I started operating my business in Minnesota. I count my blessings, the blessing of life, the gift of strength to keep going in the face of adversity, and the help God has surrounded me with through people like you.

Empowering Survivors with Dignity

I am an advocate for shifting away from asking survivors of crime to retell their stories over and over again. As a storyteller, I understand the power of storytelling, but I also recognize how revisiting traumatic experiences can be harmful.

Instead of asking survivors to repeat their stories, let’s ask for practical tips on how to help someone in a similar situation. When given the choice, survivors may decide to share parts of their stories as examples. That choice is powerful. It gives them control over their own narratives.

I choose to share my story to help others. I did not choose for others to re-traumatize or re-exploit me for my story.

A Message of Hope

I am grateful for how far the journey has brought me. If you are a victim seeking help, please reach out. There is help. If you are a survivor looking for support or trying to figure out how to use your experience to make an impact in your community, reach out as well. You can transform systems and change lives, even as a business owner, consultant, or entrepreneur raising awareness through your products or services.

Honoring Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I salute all the survivors, especially the silent survivors who may never share their stories publicly but are embedded in every aspect of this work: as advocates, nurses, teachers, social workers, clinicians, judges, lawyers, and passionate community allies.

I also pray for the souls of those lost to this crime. May they rest in peace.
And to a group that is often overlooked – the men – I see you, I hear you, and I feel you.

Give Back and Support Survivors

Today only, enjoy 45% off all products with code: Bukola45 when you spend $50 from Ewa Hair & Skincare. Take advantage of this special offer. Remember, your purchase supports survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence.

If you prefer to make a tax-deductible year-end donation, please consider supporting The Enitan Story, a nonprofit organization with tax-exempt status since May 2014 (EIN: 46-3503055).

She looked disappointed….

April 22, 2019 By Bukola Oriola

She looked disappointed.

I must admit, I really enjoyed seeing that disappointed face. I have a right to feel so, just like she had a right to look disappointed.

You must be thinking… “Bukola! What has fufu or pounded yam and melon vegetable soup (the image I used for this post) got to do with disappointment?”

Like you, I wondered why someone will be interested in me telling my tragic story on an early morning, rather than learning about the work I do to advocate for others, and how she can learn some skills to help identify or prevent others from becoming victims of human trafficking.

“Why didn’t she take the time to learn about me before that day,” I thought to myself. I even told her that my experiences of victimization was documented in my book, but her facial expression told me she was not interested in reading any book from a “victim” because I didn’t think that she even saw me as a survivor, let alone a subject matter expert. I had the strange feeling that she disregarded me as an immigrant too, as if an immigrant is less human than a non immigrant in the U.S. Of course, I have accent. And, oh! “Your accent is strong” remembering how some people tell me why they can’t understand what I was saying. So, why would or should she be interested in a book authored by a “victim” of human trafficking with a “strong accent.”

How did this happen? Well, let me back up a little without starting from the beginning. We sat to discuss after I had presented to her group because she and her group were interested in the anti-trafficking work. Well, as we began, she said, “I don’t know you” looking at me as if I should start telling her the gory details of my traumatic past.

My name and title…~wink~

I have dealt with enough people like her in the little past 10 years that I have been doing this advocacy work. I looked at her and said, well, “My name is Bukola Oriola and I am a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. I am also the founder of The Enitan Story, a nonprofit organization that advocates for victims and empowers survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence.” As I continued, explaining some of the work of my organization, I reached into my bag and pulled out a business card with my name and title as a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. Trust me, the card looks prestigious too. ~wink~ ~wink~

I saw the disappointment on her face, and I must confess, I loved it.

My point ….

Well, I hope that you get my point with this little post here. Please, when you meet a survivor, you don’t ask them directly or indirectly to start telling you their traumatic experiences. They have done more than enough favor to you if they have documented such experience in a book form. Get the book to read, and you can come with questions from the book. That way, you are respecting them and not acting as if you are better off a human being than them. It also shows that you genuinely want to learn rather than starting a pity party. Survivors do not want your pity; Survivors want your respect.

By the way, the 10th Anniversary of Imprisoned book comes up this weekend at Northtown Mall, Blaine, Minnesota. If you are in the Twin Cities area, stop by any time between Friday, April 26 and Sunday, April 28. The mall opens at 10:00 a.m. daily. I will also be featuring 11 other authors and their books. There are various categories from inspiration, to hobbies, to self help, and children’s books.

Get autographed copy of Imprisoned book

In case you are not in the area and are not able to come, but are interested in my traumatic story, you can get an autographed copy of Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim at http://bit.ly/AutographedBukola. After reading, trust me, no question is off limit. Bring them on, and I will do my best to answer every single question you have from my book.

Do you know that I am not just a published author, but a publisher, book publishing consultant, and coach for other indie authors? Check out my Author’s Page on Amazon. That way, you can see some other titles that I have been privileged to publish. In addition, you will get notified once I have a new release, like I Declare: Gratitude that just released today. Get your copy on kindle or paperback today.

Until next time.

PS: I want to hear from you. Send me your questions, comments or suggestions. Thank you.

The U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking Releases Second Annual Report

January 6, 2018 By Bukola Oriola

It’s been another year of working hard as the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking releases its Second Annual Report.

The report launch was held on Friday, January 5, 2018 to commemorate the January Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Washington D.C. Sponsored by Baker McKenzie, and hosted at its offices in Connecticut Avenue.

Polaris, a nonprofit organization located in Washington D.C. with global outreach, also saddled with the responsibility of maintaining and monitory the national human trafficking hotline- 1-888-373-8888 sponsored several survivors to attend the event by providing flight tickets and one night hotel stay.

The event was kicked off with an opening remarks by the Council’s secretary, Bukola Love Oriola, and moderated by the chairman of the Rule of Law Committee, Tina Frundt. It is helpful to know that the Council work in five committees – Rule of Law, Public Awareness, Victims Services, Labor Laws, and Grant Making. The committees help the Council focus on all the federal agencies that work and provide services on the issues of human trafficking in the U.S. and around the world.

The 2017 report acknowledges the steps that federal agencies have taken in implementing the Council’s 2016 Annual Report Recommendations. It includes key takeaways from it’s regional trips to Minnesota and Washington states in 2017, and the work and structure of the Council.

You can watch a replay of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking Releases Second Annual Report launch on the Council’s Facebook page.

The Council comprised of 11 survivor leaders who bring expertise and experience to advise and provides recommendations on federal anti-trafficking policies to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF).

The Council was established on May 22, 2015 by section 115 of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA), also known as the Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act.

No internet for 24 hours

July 29, 2016 By Bukola Oriola

No internet for 24 hours? I can’t believe it. First, when I found out that there would be no internet service for a week, all kinds of thoughts about how to perform my work raced through my mind. I was working in my home office where I had converted my sewing table to computer desk, because, I had converted the computer desk to a sewing machine holder, when my son came into the room to tell me that the internet was not working.

Hearing my son’s complain, I went to the internet box to troubleshoot it with no luck. While I was doing this, my nine-year old waited impatiently to get back on the computer to play his online game on YouTube. After trying with no luck, I decided to pick up one of the Century link’s bill for the customer service number. The technician who spoke with me learned about all the steps that I had taken to troubleshoot the device to no avail. He said, I will have to order a technician to come down to your apartment to have it fixed. Meanwhile, I have to tell you that there is an $85 charge if the problem is inside.” I asked, “$85? Inside, where?” Then he explained that since the problem could not be fixed from his end, he would need to order the service of one of their technicians to come down to fix it. He continued by saying that if the problem is found outside of the building, the company will bare the cost, but if the technician have to fix the problem inside the wiring in my apartment, then I will have to cough out $85.

No internet for 24 hours: What do I do?

At that point, I didn’t care about the cost, but for internet to be available to enable do my work. But before he hung up, I asked if I would be charged for the days that without internet service and he referred me to customer service after the restoration of the internet.

Another blow that accompanied the $85 possible charge was the fact that there would be no internet for a week. “A week?” That did not go down well with me as I was curious to know why it had to take a week for it to be fixed. The technician tried again to reach one of their road technicians to find out if there was any earlier time open. The news was not better. He said that there was no opening; however, he noted that the technicians have escalated the matter to make it a high priority should in case someone cancel’s then they would come to me.

Many things were disrupted. I couldn’t watch an online video that I was supposed to watch ahead of a meeting. Perhaps, it didn’t make any difference because I had gone for a doctor’s appointment and whatever medicine I was given made me sleepy anyway, so I spent about two hours in the afternoon sleeping helplessly.

My nine year old did not find it funny. When I woke up from sleep, I had to run down to the office late in the evening to work. I had an online show coming on in few days and needed to set it up. I went to the office to quickly set up and began to prepare myself mentally to wake up on Monday at 4:00 AM to head over to the office to be able to do my two Live shows online at 5:00 AM and 5:30 AM respectively.

The lack of internet at home was kind of helpful. I made use of Hootsuite, a social media scheduler that I have had for over five year but rarely use. I used it to schedule the upcoming show, Monday Motivation with Bukola, to promote it on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I also went to the office earlier than I usually would this morning. I created a launch schedule for my upcoming book, A Living Label and did three Live broadcasts – one on Periscope, and two on Facebook, to invite people to join the Insiders. As an Insider, you get to be the first to read chapters from the book. You will also have the opportunity to ask me questions, plus, this is a great opportunity for you, if you plan to write your own book. You can learn from the steps that I am taking to write and publish my book for yours. Click here to become an Insider today. A Living Label is a sequel to Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim, my first memoir. You can get your copy here.

Miraculously, this afternoon, my son, whom I saw wrote on his computer, “No WiFi is boring” came to announce the internet restoration. I was happy too, as this will reduce the stress to get to the office before having access to the internet for work.

What experience have you had with no internet? Share it below.

Thanks for reading. I hope to talk to you again through my blogs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please, send me a note – fill out the contact form. I want to hear from you. You can also get my recent posts by signing up to receive updates.

Bye for now, until next time.

Meet the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking

March 12, 2016 By Bukola Oriola

In January 2016, a member of the Brooklyn United Methodist Church invited me through The Enitan Story’s Facebook page to a community event at the church. At the event, she invited me to be a speaker in March on human trafficking and the newly formed U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.
The event was scheduled for March 9. I introduced the Advisory Council members in my presentation entitled, Human Trafficking: The Role of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.
The members of the Advisory council are leaders in their various communities who are also working hard to fight human trafficking. Most importantly, the council represents the voices of survivors across the United States and other parts of the world.
The Advisory council has been saddled with the responsibility of making recommendations, among others to help shape services to better serve survivors of human trafficking across the United States.
Download my presentation here to learn more detail about the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.
The first report is due in May. I am using this opportunity again to call on community members, and, especially, survivors alike to reach out to us should you have recommendation that will benefit survivors across the U.S. and other parts of the world.

Below is a video report from the event. Thanks to Channel 12.